The Who's Roger Daltrey reflects on 'Tommy'

3 years ago

The Who's new "super deluxe" edition of "Tommy" arrives in stores Monday.

The latest version of the band's 1968 rock opera includes the digitally remastered original album, along with a disc of 20 never-before released demos from the project and a live performance cobbled together from different shows The Who played back in 1969.

Frontman Roger Daltrey tells Billboard.com the demos allow listeners to hear the evolution of the songs, and how the other band members put their own "personalities" into Pete Townshend's compositions. He adds that when The Who played "Tommy" in concert, it "gained a different power altogether."

Roger explains that the group wouldn't let the audience interrupt the performance with applause after each song, so at the end "the reaction was extraordinary" because it had been bottled up and building throughout the show.

Daltrey admits "Tommy" seems to "rear its head every four or five years for some reason," but it's "always good." The singer says each time he revisits the project he hears something new in it. He adds that "as the years go by it means different things." Another "Tommy" related release will arrive early next year.

The BBC recently aired the new documentary Sensation - The Story of Tommy, which will arrive on DVD in March.